The Place
The choices place
Film. Named six times at the David di Donatello Awards 2018 (equivalence of Italians Cesars), the second film of Paolo Genovese is a moral tale at the limit of the fantastic in the closed doors of a coffee. Bewitching!
By Tess Volet
Ten people visit a mysterious man sitting at a coffee table. In exchange of challenges, this man with an impressive schedule, realizes their dearest wishes. Fantasies impossible to grant, paradoxical, even absurd often involving a moral dilemma. The closed doors forced the spectator to soak up the story of each protagonist, without a break. Challenge honorably addressed. The first shots show emotions on the faces of characters. Double confinement because, excepted few physical moves, the camera stays focus on this facial expressions. We guess their fight, their choice between right and wrong faced to the fearless look of the intriguing Valerio Mastandrea.
”The closed doors forced the spectator to soak up the story of each protagonist, without a break
While he could switch on a greyish climate, the story, interspersed of humor, is served by a sweet colorimetry and modest dialogue which makes welcoming the place ambiance. The universal corner coffee. We don”t know the name, the age or the past of the man with his used schedule. But, progressively, his identity becomes clearer without losing his mystery part : is he an angel, the devil or the monster that is in each of us ? The filmmaker Paolo Genovese doesn’t really answer the question and makes the viewer doubt of his own morality. The ethical questions of successive characters humbly encourage introspection.
